American Farm Bureau Federation just rolled out its 36th Annual Survey on the average cost of this year's classic Thanksgiving Dinner for 10. It is $53.31 - less than $6.00 per person - but 14% higher than last year. Turkeys, the pièce de résistance and centerpiece of most Thanksgiving tables, will cost about $1.50 a pound, up 24% from last year. A 16-pound bird will fetch $23.99 at check-out, accounting for around half the total cost of the holiday spread. 

"Several factors contributed to the increase in average cost of this year's Thanksgiving dinner," noted AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh. "These include dramatic disruptions to the U.S. economy and supply chains over the last 20 months; inflationary pressure throughout the economy; difficulty in predicting demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and high global demand for food, particularly meat," she explained. Further, as consumers cooked and ate at home more often due to the pandemic, Nigh pointed out, supermarket demand increased and higher retail food prices followed in 2020 and 2021, compared to pre-pandemic prices in 2019. 

The shopping list for AFBF's informal survey included turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers. Grocery store receipts will itemize the costs for these goods like this:

• 16 pound turkey: $23.99 or approximately $1.50 per pound (up 24%)
• 2 frozen pie crusts: $2.91 (up %20)
• 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $3.64 (up 7%)
• Half pint of whipping cream: $1.78 (up 2%)
• 1 dozen dinner rolls: $3.05 (up 15%)
• 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.98 (up 11%)
• 1 gallon of whole milk: $3.30 (up 7%)
• 1 pound of frozen peas: $1.54 (up 6%)
• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $3.56 (up 4%)
• 1 pound veggie tray (carrots and celery): 82 cents (up 12%)
• 14 ounce bag of cubes stuffing mix: $2.29 (down 19%)

AFBF calculated the national average costs using 218 surveys completed with pricing data from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Farm AFBF volunteer shoppers checked prices in person and online using grocery store apps and websites. They looked for the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals.